


Crayons and Burnt Tapestry

by alimacbrux



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, POV Sirius Black, Pre-Canon, Raising Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28011129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alimacbrux/pseuds/alimacbrux
Summary: Sirius finds 4 year old Harry up to no good in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place. Although, perhaps Sirius might agree with this particular bit of mischief.Based on the headcanon by darling hogwarts: https://darlinghogwarts.tumblr.com/post/86278567495/sirius-not-going-to-azkaban-and-raising-harry-in
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 53





	Crayons and Burnt Tapestry

It was late October, the streets and gardens covered in piles of orange and red leaves, rustling in the wind and crackling underfoot. There was a heavy breeze that rattled the old windows and whistled constantly as it swirled and shook the trees in the back garden. Even with the fireplace roaring to life, its flames casting bright orange light and flickering shadows across the floor, the house was still quite chilly from the poor insulation of being decades old. 

After Harry’s parents were killed and Sirius insisted on taking Harry in, he knew he needed to find a house to raise him in since his and Remus’ one bedroom flat was definitely not going to cut it. Unfortunately, since Sirius was the official owner of his old family house after his parents finally died, the most logical explanation was to move in there to raise Harry. At least for the time being.

It was much less grim than before, at least. Sirius and Remus worked tirelessly removing as many portraits as they could, throwing out all the Dark artifacts littered here and there, using intensive cleaning magic and getting rid of the dusty old house elf heads propped up on the wall. Leaving Harry to stay with their various living friends from school or the Order, they repainted the rooms, replaced all the ancient furniture with brighter and more modern furniture and made the house actually liveable. They even spent a good few months removing various anti-Muggle charms on the house and putting in Muggle electricity in the house. 

Unfortunately, almost 3 years later, the only thing they still hadn’t managed to figure out how to get rid of was the ugly family tapestry on the wall of the drawing room. 

The majority of the rest of the house had bright wallpaper or paint, but for whatever reason, the blasted (literally) tapestry still couldn’t be removed. Sirius was considering just painting over it soon, but hadn’t gotten around to it lately. 

Remus was out for the day, visiting his mother, leaving Sirius at home alone with Harry in chilly Grimmauld Place. Sirius was upstairs in what used to be his mother’s bedroom, which they converted into a makeshift laundry and storage room. Sirius took great satisfaction in using the electric iron, plugged into a socket, knowing his mother would be turning in her grave if she knew. Folding up one of Harry’s little shirts, navy blue with a brown owl on the front which blinked and moved its head, Sirius idly wondered where the toddler in question was. 

At first, it was quite worrying when Harry wandered off as the house was full of dangerous and downright creepy objects that a full grown adult shouldn’t be near nevermind an 18 month old, but now that they’d removed everything, at least Sirius knew he wouldn’t likely find Harry set on fire or strangled in curtains somewhere. 

Even still, Sirius turned off the iron, hands on his hips, and stepped into the hallway, looking around for his godson. He padded across the hall to Harry’s bedroom, but when he stuck his head in, there was no toddler to be found. Only scattered toys and drawings remained. 

He went from room to room, calling out Harry’s name, checking under beds and inside closets and behind shower curtains. And still, after almost twenty minutes of searching the house, the messy haired toddler was still nowhere to be found. 

Beginning to panic slightly, imagining what horrible things could have happened to his baby, Sirius crept into the drawing room on a whim, not expecting to really find him there since Harry rarely ever went in. 

“Harry? Are you in—?” Sirius froze, leaning his head inside the doorway. 

Harry was sitting on the floor next to the family tree, legs folded underneath him and a small mound of art supplies sitting beside him. A very intense look of concentration on his face, Harry had a bright blue crayon in one of his chubby fists, drawing directly on the wall. 

Sirius stepped inside, furrowing his brows deeper. “Harry, darling, what are you up to?” he asked, crossing the room towards the toddler. 

Harry turned around at Sirius’ voice, dropping his crayon on the ground and jumping to his feet. A grin spread over his face, big green eyes glinting up at Sirius. 

“Padfoot!” he exclaimed, scuttling over to Sirius. 

Instinctively, Sirius bent down and caught Harry in his arms, lifting him up to settle on his waist. Harry beamed up at him and Sirius couldn’t help but return the grin, reaching one hand up to brush his fingers through the soft black hair, pushing it out of his eyes. He could see the scar on his forehead, a bolt of lightning leading through one eyebrow and slightly down his temple. 

“Padfoot! Padfoot, look!” Harry cried, pointing wildly over at the tapestry on the wall. “I drew you a picture, Padfoot!” 

Sirius sighed, moving over to the tapestry, bending over slightly, careful not to drop Harry. A small smile spread across his face, a laugh waiting to tumble out. 

On the spot where Sirius' face had been, blasted out by his mother back when he left when he was 16, Harry had drawn a very messy crayon drawing of Sirius with smudged black hair and uneven eyes and a wide, exaggerated smile. Beside this cartoon Sirius, he’d also drawn a cartoon Remus with twisting brown hair and big green smudges for eyes, also sporting an over-the-top smile and a brown scar over his cheek. Over the faces of Sirius’ various relatives, including his parents and a few random family members within reach of a toddler, Harry drew red crosses over the eyes or angry eyebrows, beards or devil horns. 

“D’you like it, Padfoot?” Harry asked when Sirius stood up straight once again. His green eyes were wide and curious, staring right at Sirius. “I drew over the meanies that were bad to you, Padfoot.” 

Sirius grinned, messing up Harry’s fringe again. “It’s wonderful, darling. Thank you,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to Harry’s golden brown skin. “I can’t wait to show Moony.” 

Harry grinned, letting Sirius carry him back out of the drawing room. Sirius glanced over his shoulder at the drawings on the wall, smiling to himself as he shut the door with his foot, bringing Harry upstairs with him. 

Maybe that old tapestry could stay a while.


End file.
